Product Description

Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network. How many devices do you need to do all this? Just one. Presenting AirPort Express. Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most — whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go.

Product Details

• Brand: Apple
• Model: M9470LL/A
• Released on: 2004-07-24
• Platform: Windows
• Format: CD
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 3.00 pounds

Features

• Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house
• Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables
• Create an instant wireless network on the go
• Access an AirPort Express wireless network
• Compatible with Windows XP or 2000; Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later

From the Manufacturer
Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network.

Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most -- whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go.

Driving the Wi-Fi Revolution In 1999, Apple sparked the wireless revolution with the introduction of AirPort, the first affordable and easy-to-use solution for accessing the Internet without restrictive cables. In 2003, AirPort Extreme took your unwired connection to the next level by harnessing the superfast 802.11g wireless standard for data rates nearly five times those of the 802.11b standard that the original AirPort used and many current wireless networking devices still use. With AirPort Express, Apple continues to advance wireless, delivering the first device to pack wireless networking, audio, printing and bridging capabilities into a single affordable, portable unit. AirTunes Unleashes Your Music AirPort Express with AirTunes brings your iTunes music in your Mac or PC into your living room -- or wherever in your home you have a stereo or a set of powered speakers. All you have to do is connect your sound system to the audio port on the AirPort Express Base Station using an audio cable (included in the optional AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit) and AirTunes lets you play your iTunes music through your stereo or powered speakers -- wirelessly. iTunes automatically detects the connection of your remote speakers, so you just have to select them in the popup list that appears at the bottom of the iTunes window and click play.

Enjoy your playlists, set iTunes to shuffle through your entire library or repeat your favorite songs over and over

Enjoy your playlists, set iTunes to shuffle through your entire library or repeat your favorite songs over and over again -- however you like to enjoy your music on iTunes, you can now enjoy it that way through your stereo speakers, wherever they're located in your house.

Add Music to Your Current Wireless Network
If you already have a wireless network in place, you can use AirPort Express to add music to its capabilities. Let's say, for example, you have AirPort Extreme set up in your den. There's no need to scrap this setup and create a whole new one with an AirPort Express Base Station, your DSL or cable modem, printer and stereo all in one place. Simply connect AirPort Express to your stereo in your favorite music room and plug it into an electrical outlet -- it wirelessly links to your existing network, letting you play your music in your room of choice without moving anything or connecting anything else.

AirPort Express connects you and everyone in your family not only to the Internet but to each other. Since it employs the powerful 802.11g standard, you can wirelessly share photos, movies and other files without having to worry about slow data transmissions. Nor do you have to concern yourself over a difficult network setup procedure. AirPort Express uses the revolutionary Rendezvous technology in Mac OS X to allow your AirPort-equipped Macs running Mac OS X to detect each other with no effort on your part -- they discover each other just by virtue of being within the range of the network. Extend Your Network If you already have a wireless network in your home and would like to extend its range, AirPort Express is your answer. Suppose you want to connect to the Internet with your PowerBook in an area that lies beyond the 150-foot range of your AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station. You can use AirPort Express as a wireless bridge to extend the range of your primary base station.

There's no need for extra wires or cables -- serving as a bridge, AirPort Express doesn't have to be physically connected to your primary base station or to your DSL or cable modem. Simply place AirPort Express within the range of your primary base station and near the area where you'd like to enjoy your wireless connection.

Customer Reviews

For Windows people in despair...
Yes, the directions stink, but there is hope for you Windows users. If you have the typical Windows wireless network setup (computer, router, laptop, access points, etc.), then follow these easy steps to get your AirPort up and running.

1. Before you go wireless, physically connect your AirPort to your router with an Ethernet cable. Plug in the AirPort, and wait until the LED turns solid green.

2. Start the AirPort Admin Utility for Windows. You now want to configure the AirPort to join your existing network "wirelessly". You should see the AirPort Base Station appear with its IP address in the Base Station Chooser.

3. In the lower right-hand corner, click on Configure... Click on the AirPort tab. In the "AirPort Network" section, Use base station to: "Join an Existing Wireless Network". Underneath that, type in your existing wireless "Network Name". You will be asked to change the password as well.

4. Click "Update" in the lower right-hand corner of the Configure window. Your AirPort will be restarted, and the LED should turn solid green again.

5. Finally, disconnect the AirPort from your router, and remove the connecting cable. You should NOW be able to plug in your AirPort anywhere to join your existing network.

My life is much easier these days...because of my Airport...
I have read some of the other reviews in this space, and they do appear mixed. I can only offer my experience with this product, which has been absolutely spectacular. I have a G4 Powerbook, a printer, the airport express, and two toddlers. What the wireless capabilities have done is make my house much more enjoyable to all of my family. I keep my Powerbook on my coffee table, my printer on the top of my stereo unit. My oldest daughter, 4 years old right now, can walk up to my laptop, turn it on, click on her Barbie.com shortcut on the desktop, and print out new coloring sheets for her and her younger sister. Then, while they color, with a couple of clicks, she can play any of her music from iTunes. With everything so accessible, my daughters are becoming more computer literate, and have very little interest in watching TV anymore, and there are no wires traipsing across the house. And as far as ease of use? I had it up and running in less than 5 minutes, without ever looking at the manual. After being a PC person until just two years ago, these are the exact reasons that I converted to the Mac world. This is just another great product by the people at Apple.

More Clear Windows Help
Took 2+ hours to get this set-up as a "client" on my existing 802.11b network - awesome product once you jump through the hurdles!...

I read other folks advice, but none of them gave me a complete A-Z for connecting to an existing network using WinXP and 802.11b. Here's my instructions borrowing certain parts from other postings (thanks, btw!)...

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes.

2. Physically connect your new AirPort Express to your wireless router with an Ethernet cable. Plug in the AirPort Express into the wall, and wait until the LED turns solid green (up to a few minutes).

3. Insert the CD-ROM that came with the product and run the Install program on your computer.

4. Once installed, start the "AirPort Admin Utility" for Windows. [Note: do NOT use the "AirPort Express Assistant" AT ALL as this software will lead to a dead end if you're trying to connect to your existing non-Apple AirPort Basestation network (eg; this tool doesn't work if you have Netgear, Linksys, Belkin, etc).]

5. Select your new Airport Express name in the Base Station Chooser list and then click "Configure" in the bottom right corner.

6. Click on the "AirPort" tab. In the "AirPort Network" section, select "Use base station to: Join an Existing Wireless Network".

7. Type in your existing wireless "Network Name" [note: if you don't know this, in WinXP go to "View Network Connections > View available wireless networks" and find the name of the wireless network you are using. Note this name and how it is spelled, as it is case sensitive = you have to enter it just like this in the AirPort set-up.]. If you have security on your wireless network, click "Security" and enter in the correct key(s), which you can get from your router's home page [note: find the IP address for this in your router's documentation].

8. Change the password to something you'll easily remember. It doesn't let you use the default "public" password.

9. Click on the "Music" tab at the top of the screen, and name your iTunes speaker system. For example, "Living Room".

10. Click "Update" in the lower right-hand corner. Your AirPort Express will be restarted, and the LED should turn solid green again after a few minutes.

11. Go to http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/ and download the latest firmware update for your AirPort Express (eg; AirPort Express Firmware 6.1.1 for Windows). Run this software to update the firmware. Once the installation is complete, your Airport Express will again restart and the LED will change to yellow then back to green after a few minutes.

12. Unplug the Ethernet cable and relocate the AirPort express where you'd like, plugging in your audio jack and plugging the unit back into the wall.

13. Turn on your audio receiver, make sure it's connected to the jack you just plugged into the Airport Express.

13. Open iTunes. In the bottom right, select your new Airport Express speaker name (eg; Living Room) as the speakers to use.

14. Select your song, press play, and there you have it.

15. Happy AirTuning...

Sure wish Apple would just grow up and post these instructions on their own Web site.